Gove's hot stuff

Colin Richards is right (Letters, 24 July). Ofsted should be replaced by a national inspection service, independent of government, to assess and report on the effects of government education policy. It should also assess impartially the quality of education in schools. It might be called Her Majesty's Inspectorate.Iain PatersonAxminster, Devon

• Keith Flett's proposal of Michael Gove for weather minister (Letters, 23 July) is intriguing. Surely Gove would claim that reaching record high temperatures was just too easy now and would replace C and F with a more rigorous scale. Of course, at the same time, he would point out that the fine weather was down to Tory policies raising standards, unlike the cold, grim Brown years.Phil BrettLondon

• How about Gove Changes Everything… frequently, and not in a good way?Colin WalkerBristol

• Peter and Gordon's A World Without Gove. Now that's a song.Bernard OrmerodSalisbury, Wiltshire

• CB Fry is an object lesson in what cigars can do to a sportsman (Letters, 24 July). One of his was still smoking in an ashtray when he broke the British long jump record in 1892. Sadly, he was snatched away from us at the age of 84.Willie Montgomery StackNorwich

• Jack King, of the Colchester Rovers Cycling Club, used to ride time trials with a fag in his mouth while singing opera.Jenny HaynesBarton on Humber, Lincolnshire

• Why are odd shoes to be seen all along our motorways? On a recent journey of about 100 miles I saw four. I once saw a horse's leg on a roundabout, but that is a different story.Caroline SmithGoole, East Riding of Yorkshire